2013 PLASA Awards for Innovation Now Accepting EntriesPLASA London 2013, which takes place at ExCeL London October 6 - 9, 2013, announces the launch of the 2013 PLASA Awards for Innovation, and is inviting entries at www.plasashow.com/awards until Friday, September 27. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in the new AudioLab Arena on Monday, October 7, at 6:00pm. Jennie Barratt, show manager, PLASA London 2013, said, "PLASA London is regarded as a major international launch pad for new products. During its history, it has seen hundreds of product innovations introduced to the market -- a trend which we expect to see continued at the 2013 event. The PLASA Awards for Innovation aim to emphasize this focus on true innovation." The PLASA Awards for Innovation recognize products that advance the industry by demonstrating a new style of thinking, improving technical practice, or taking a key step forward in terms of safety. All successfully vetted products are judged against one another on the strength of their innovation alone. The judging panel, led once again by LSi's technical editor, Richard Cadena, will have eight awards of equal standing at their disposal, with the added option of making one or more of these a "Gold" Award -- for products which stand out above the rest. In addition, the judges can also choose to give the PLASA Award for Sustainability, which recognizes products that can claim a significant reduction of power usage for its product type/application, effective use of renewable energy sources, or significant reduction of environmental impact of product lifecycle. The award ceremony will also honor the recipient of the 2013 Gottelier Award. Named in memory of Tony Gottelier, the industry innovator and commentator who passed away in 2006, the Gottelier Award aims to recognize product developers who have made significant and sustained contributions to the advancement of entertainment, presentation, or installation technology -- whether in audio, lighting, rigging, staging, or any other related field. This year's nominees are: • Jim Bornhorst -- The man who pioneered the moving light, Bornhorst is widely considered the father of the modern show lighting fixture. Setting out to improve the efficiency of PAR Can rigs by creating a "gel changer" he and his team instead created the first Vari-Lite. With the support of Genesis, the first moving light rig was seen in Barcelona in 1981, and the rest, as they say, is history. • Chris Cronin -- In almost 35 years in the business, Cronin has been at the forefront of the entertainment staging industry, developing flexible, safe trussing structures and has had a hand in pushing forward many of the developments we take for granted. • Wayne Howell -- Howell's innovative products such as Micro-Scope DMX tester, the Lamp Tramp, the DMX-Dongle, DMX-Split, Pixi-Web, and Visual Patch have won many industry accolades and formed key elements to many notable projects in entertainment and architectural lighting worldwide. • Alan Jacobi LVO -- Jacobi has worked rigorously to raise the profile and professionalism of the rigging industry and long recognized the need for training and education, and has been a driving force behind the NRC accreditation scheme since the very beginning in 2005. • Frederic Opsomer -- Opsomer began his career in the mid-80s, utilizing video and projectors for marketing purposes. Most recently, he led the team in the design and production of 70,500 pixel tablets for the London 2012 Olympic Games; creating the world's largest landscape video display. • Pasquale Quadri -- For over 30 years, Italian manufacturer Clay Paky has been a leading force in the manufacture of entertainment lighting fixtures, all the while under the auspices of company founder, Pasquale Quadri (or 'Paky' as he is better known). All PLASA members and pre-registered visitors to PLASA 2013 are eligible to vote, and will receive an email inviting them to place their vote at the PLASA Show website. Voting closes on Friday, September 20. For more information on how to enter the PLASA Awards for Innovation, please visit the URL below. 
|
